◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek December 7, 202037KUIPERS BLAKE: PHOTOGRAPH BY MATT NAGER FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK; LIGHTFOOT: PAT NABONG/CHICAGO SUN-TIMES/AP PHOTO. DATA:
NEWFRONTIERDATAJohn Hudak, a senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution, says Biden is likely to make good on his
campaign’s commitment to criminal justice reform.
This could include moving Justice Department pri-
orities away from enforcing federal laws that con-
flict with state marijuana laws, which would be a
return to the Obama administration’s position.
“I don’t think we’re going to see Joe Biden six
months from now come out for full national legaliza-
tion, but I do think you’re going to see him thinking
more critically and more carefully” about the inter-
section of race and law enforcement, Hudak says.
The Black Lives Matter movement has pro-
moted the idea of decriminalizing cannabis as a
way to reduce the number of incarcerated BlackAmericans.Blackpeoplefacearrestforpossession
at almost four times the rate as White people,
despitesimilarlevelsofuse.
AmberLittlejohn, executivedirectorofthe
MinorityCannabisBusinessAssociation,sayscivil
rights groups already are urging Biden to address
the inequitable legacy of the war on drugs. “We
are hoping that an administration that owes its
existence at this point to many of the communi-
ties” that were hurt the most by federal marijuana
policies will listen to their concerns, she says.
�TiffanyKaryandBenBrodyTHE BOTTOM LINE The Biden administration will have several
options to liberalize federal pot policy, which would boost an
industry that has one hand tied behind its back.● Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed through an austerity budget, alienating some progressivesChicago’s Hard Choices
After more than two weeks of sometimes
contentioushearings,onNov. 24 theChicagoCity
Councilnarrowlypasseda 2021“pandemicbudget”
toclosea $1.2billiondeficit.It’sa victoryforfirst-
termMayorLoriLightfoot.Buttheturbulentpro-
cessrevealedthedifficultyofreconcilinga liberal
policyagendawiththeeconomicfalloutofCovid-19,
evenina deep-bluecity.Andit’smostlya short-term
fixforthelong-standingfiscalproblemsofChicago,
America’sthird-largestcity.
“Thiswasa reallyhardyear,”saysLightfoot,a
Democrat.“Unlikeanythinginourcity’shistory.”
About65%ofthebudgetgapresultedfromlosses
connectedtothecoronavirus,asbusinessinthe
tourism,convention, hotel, restaurant, and other
sectors plummeted.
Lightfoot, the city’s first Black female mayor
and first openly gay mayor, ran as an outsider in
2019, promising a commitment to social justice
and equity as well as vowing to reform Chicago’s
notorious political machine. Her $12.8 billion bud-
get includes a $94 million property tax hike, a
3¢-per-gallon increase to the gas tax, a $30 million
draw from reserves, and more funds raised from
speed cameras, parking meters, and other fines
and fees. The city is also refinancing and restruc-
turing $1.7 billion in debt for a half-billion dollars
in savings, a tactic referred to as “scoop and toss”that’s generally frowned upon by fiscal watchdogs.
Lightfoot secured the votes she needed for her
budget by nixing her original plan to lay off 350 city
workers and, instead of cutting the funding of the
Chicago Police Department as some aldermen
demanded,addedfundsforviolenceprevention
anda pilotprogramthatpairspoliceandmental-
health workers on responding to 911 calls.Critics on the council say the budget relies
onregressivetaxesandfeesthathurtthedisad-
vantaged.AldermanCarlosRamirez-Rosa,a self-
described democratic socialist, voted against it.
“I’ve heard from so many people in my commu-
nity that are just so angry that at a moment when
families have less, they are being asked to pay
more,” Ramirez-Rosa says. In a recent survey◀ Lightfoot